Prelude to a Storm

Outside, the rain is softly falling, the last drops of a storm from earlier this evening.  A spur of the moment walk to the park gave witness to ominous clouds rolling in and low growls of thunder trembling the earth beneath our feet.  A shift in the wind and you could feel the sky preparing to lose control - air thick as molasses, scents of damp soil, underbrush and wildflowers.  Even though we were far into the open fields, the clouds hung low, heavy and cumbersome.  With each step the darkness followed closely at our heels, the wind picking up speed, our pace hastening, making our way back home before the storm.

 

 

Adventure Before Noon

We hit the road at 6 AM.  Destination, Enchanted Rock.  Watching the sun rise over the Texas Hill Country is pretty spectacular to witness.  My polo film wasn't in its best form on this trip - the gusts of wind while hiking on "the rock" probably didn't help... oh and my neglect to check the exposure setting... I was kind of distracted.  Blue skies for miles, crisp cool air, wildflowers, the hubs, dog and myself on a family adventure.  Hello weekend, oh how I love you. 

Salt & Sea

A perfect day hiking a stretch of the Northern California coastline through  Little River and Mendocino.  The day before had been rainy & cold without a peep of sun.  This particular morning we were greeted with brilliant blue skies dotted with puffy clouds and crisp ocean breezes.  We set out mid - morning, after another ridiculously indulgent breakfast.  It was about a mile to reach the headlands trail from the Inn, through cypress trees and tall grasses - and me anxiously looking around every curve in fear of a mountain lion sighting.  The risk was worth the reward - through the thick brushy trail, a wide expanse of ocean and crashing waves greeted us - as far as the eye could see.  We stood there for a while, just admiring and taking in the beauty of it all.  Then Josh started exploring, walking further out towards the ocean on the rocky Cliffside - I started saying my prayers, please don't let the Ocean eat Josh, please.... (you'd think I would just enjoy the beauty around me instead of worrying so much... ).  Thankfully, he made his way back safely and we continued along the trail.  At one point I was lingering behind, trying to snap the perfect shot when I heard Josh yelling - my first thought was he was being attacked by that mountain lion...  more prayers and obscenities and prayers for saying obscenities after a prayer... and I found him safely standing on the cliff pointing towards the ocean.  Whales!  We got to see the whales migrating.  A whole pod of them - spouts of water shooting through the air and you could see them surfacing - we really couldn't believe it.  Everyone had been saying to be on the look out for whales since this is the time of year they are migrating, but we just dismissed it because what was the chance we would even see them... people spend hours, if not days searching the seas in hopes of a sighting.  And hear we were, just walking along, me afraid of mountain lions and then all of a sudden, there they were.  I didn't think I would be as excited as I was - it was such an experience to witness them!

From there we decided we needed to take a picnic out by the sea.  One of the inn keepers suggested we go out to Point Cabrillo Lighthouse for the ocean views and picnic tables.  So we packed up our lunch from the local grocery store and I grabbed a few goodies from the Inn and we made our way to the Lighthouse.  We took the long way to get out there... probably about a mile hike, and we were pretty hungry at this point, but the views really were incredible.  Our lunch consisted of chicken salad with freshly baked French bread, seaweed salad and a couple of no bake cookies from the Inn.  We had a front row picnic table view of the ocean - you really couldn't have asked for a better way to dine.  I'm not really sure how long we sat there, but it was hard to leave. 

It's hard to leave this blog post now.  Going through the polaroids, taken just over a month ago - time really does fly.  So today I'm saying a little prayer of thanks - thankful for those perfect days that make all your worries go away.    xoxo

 

 

 

 

 

Flower Dog

 A day at the park on a cloudy morning.  Dog in tow (or more like Human in tow), aimlessly strolling through the fields of wildflowers.  

 

By the Sea

It's the end of April.  My fingers are frozen, the front door is open, and I'm wrapped up in blankets and warm booties.  Probably the last cold front until fall returns.  My Weather Bug App says it is 43 degrees but feels like 36 degrees - my fingers agree with the 36 degrees.  Hmmm why do I have the front door open...

 

Looking back at some of my vacation polaroids.  Mendocino, California is such a beautiful little town.  Victorian homes dot the streets with white picket fences at their guard.  The scent of salt and sea intermingles with blooming flowers creating intoxicating dreaminess.  The lull of the ocean further draws you into a state of relaxation.  It really is impossible to move fast here - and why would you.  Lingering among wild gardens with oceans breezes carrying your worries away. 

 

View towards Mendocino, CA from Highway 1.

 

Cemetery by the Sea.

 

All the homes are really this lovely.

 

I was obsessed with the whale weathervanes!

 

Local wildlife... 

 

Even the cars tell a story.

Friday, Flowers & Fits

 Lounging on the sofa with a velvety glass of vino by my side - just another lazy Friday night.  The afternoon on the other hand was quite a different story.  It involved 4 lbs of honey bees, Josh in a bee suit, and a vacuum to suck the swarm safely into a travel container to be transported to a new hive.  There are pictures on my face book page - I did not feel entirely at ease to take the polaroid camera close enough to get a decent shot of the swarm.  Since I work from home these days, I noticed earlier in the afternoon there were quite a number of bees buzzing around our front gate.  So I called Noah and Miss Kitty inside and investigated from the safe distance of inside the house... just looked like about 20 bees flying around so I just dismissed it and went back to work.  Well after checking on the situation a few more times I noticed that the bees flying around were less and was about to let the "kids" back outside when I noticed this huge clump swaying with the wind on a tree limb near our gate.  Upon further inspection (from inside the house) I was in awe to find a ridiculously large amount of bees camped out near our front gate.  So after a frantic call to the husband with little acknowledgment and a lot of dismissal of my encounter I called in the Pro Bee Wrangler.  He was available to come by the house right away and was happy I called him first before attempting to rid them myself.  FYI spraying or poking big sticks at a swarm is not a good idea... doesn't work and then you have angry bees.  Just FYI, I obviously wasn't going to do either since I never left the house.  He tried to also convince me the bees would be docile and would probably leave within three or four days when they found a new place to start a hive - I was not going to wait that long nor was I going to allow these bees the opportunity to think that a fabulous new bee hive home could potentially be my shed or house.  So the Pro, Brandon ( Eastside Honey Co ), saved the day, the bees and any of us from getting stung.  Now hopefully the bees will be happy at their new hive.  Oh and the husband who so quickly dismissed my cries earlier did not dismiss the huge swarm either when he finally came home from work - he drove by, windows rolled up and took a few photos and decided it was in his best interest to enter the house from the back entrance and avoid the swarm....  It was quite the experience!

On a different note...

Flowers are blooming and spring is singing.  I love this time of year.  Noah and I were out for a walk last weekend after one of the biggest rain storms in a while (there was actual thunder and lightning).  Much to Noah's delight, Shoal Creek was up and running at full force - so Noah decided to join in on the action. Puppy fits like crazy!  I can't believe I actually caught it on polaroid!  Finally we have Miss Kitty... she has found a new fav loung spot right next to the front door when it is open... enjoying cool breezes yet without the sunburn.  She is now our official door stop.

Well it has been too long of a break since I posted last.  I will be back soon!  Until then, enjoy the polo love!  All photos taken with my SX-70 on Impossible film.

hello december

finally.  a cold December day.  we had to have the heater on instead of the a/c.  Noah's second day out for a walk after house arrest for two weeks.  he absolutely adores this cold weather and practically was dragging me the entire time.  been itching to take more polaroids lately.
this was the second attempt on a second trip around the park after the first shot was totally over exposed.  since the wind was blowing, I had a hard time keeping the polaroid covered from light to prevent over exposure.  I think it's about time to purchase the newest film that has sun protection so I don't have to worry about shielding the photo for four minutes and risk wasting expensive film.

*****

Christmas shopping + sipping on homemade hot cocoa.  I didn't realize just how easy homemade hot cocoa was - no need to by an expensive container at the store... and I haven't done Swiss Miss since college.  All you need is 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (I use Dagoba Organic Chocolate) and 1 cup sugar for the powder.  I make a mix of it and put it in a recycled jam container for more than one use.  All you have to do to the mix is heat up your milk, add the mix once the milk is warm, and then add about a teaspoon of vanilla.  And VOILA!  easy hot cocoa when you are craving something warm and yummy.  well, better get back to shopping!  xoxo

Sunset at the Dog Park